Surprise, Surprise
by Un Petit Diable
Summary: [COMPLETE][Post Hogwarts, War]Blaise. Hermione. Slytherin. Gryffindor. Doesn't work, right? That's what they thought until they woke up as a married couple trying to raise three kids. Merlin, help them. [Check out the artwork for the fic. Link in profile]
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Surprise, Surprise  
****Rated: PG  
****Genre: Humour/ General/ Romance  
****Pairings: HG/ BZ  
****Category: Post War/ Hogwarts**

**Disclaimer: I don't own J. K. Rowling's creations.**

**Chapter 1: And So It Begins… **

'Honestly, Granger, it's either that's the latest fashion or you've been run over by a truck,' Blaise Zabini smirked, his indigo eyes twinkling. 'Seriously, do something about that bird nest you call hair!'

'Well, Zabini,' Hermione said with a tilt of her head, 'not all of us have maids and butlers at every corner to make every little choice for us; including the colour of the shirt to wear for the day.'

Blaise scowled at the brunette and continued to trail her through the streets of London. 'I'll have you know, I work very hard as an Unspeakable to earn my own living.'

'Really?' Hermione rolled her eyes, but of course the raven-haired Italian couldn't see it. 'How am I to know that you didn't hire a nanny to secretly do it for you?'

'At least I have a career,' Blaise said smugly.

Hermione halted and swiftly turned to face him, 'I'm training as a teacher to take over Professor Flitwick next year.'

'Well, congratulations,' Blaise said with a hint of sarcasm.

'Hmph!' Hermione turned around and started to walk again. Blaise was at her heels. 'Why don't you go and visit dear old Malfoy in Azkaban?'

'What the bloody hell is wrong with you people?' Blaise sighed. 'Just because I'm a Slytherin and I chose not to get involved in that war that your dear friend, Potter, ended, does not make me evil.'

'Can't you get a hint?' Hermione groaned. 'Quit following me!'

'Not until you apologise,' Blaise said simply.

'For what?' Hermione stopped again to face him. Blaise stopped just at the nick of time to prevent himself from crashing into her.

'For nearly breaking my nose,' he exclaimed, pointing at the middle of his face.

'What were you doing at a Muggle bookstore anyway?' Hermione asked crossing her arms.

'What do you think I was doing in a book store?' Blaise ridiculed, and Hermione blushed slightly. 'Beside, that's completely off topic.'

'Well, it's not my problem that you were standing behind the door,' Hermione remarked.

'Actually, I was going to open the door to get out when you slammed it to my face,' Blaise pointed out. 'Seriously, woman, you push open doors slowly incase someone else is at the other side; not come rampaging in like a rhino!'

'You're not hurt, Zabini,' Hermione said, tying up her hair. She had a tiresome day, making her hair frizzier than usual as he so kindly pointed out. 'So, leave me alone.'

'Not until you apologise,' Blaise replied. 'Do I have to spell it out for you? Gryffindors and their stupid pride...' he muttered.

'Fine, _sorry!_' she spat out before storming home.

'And they say Slytherins are the ones who are dragging this idiotic rivalry on,' Blaise muttered under his breath, heading home.

* * *

Hermione changed into her blue nightgown and prepared for bed. The war had ended three years ago. Harry and Ginny married right afterwards, and Ron was dating Lavender Brown again. Ginny was currently two months pregnant, while Harry and Ron were both Aurors. 

Hermione was the single one. She didn't always go to see them even though she was more then welcome to. She always felt like she was intruding into their private lives. She was living in Muggle London alone in a small flat. The twenty-one-year-old Gryffindor groaned into her pillow. She slowly fell asleep cursing at Zabini.

* * *

Blaise returned home to the Zabini Manor. Well, it wasn't a manor anymore; the place was burnt down during the war when his family was killed. He rebuilt it into a nice cozy house. It was a huge and lovely house but not big enough to be a manor. Then again, he didn't want a manor. What was the point? 

Putting on a bit of healing cream on his nose, he had dinner, and then went to bed swearing at Granger.

* * *

The sunlight poured through the window, waking Hermione up. She groaned, rubbing her head. Something wasn't right. She felt different and for one thing, she couldn't remember wearing a pink nightgown to bed. Then something moved beside her. 

'AAHHHHHHHHH!' Next to her in bed was Blaise Zabini. 'What are you doing here?' They both asked in unison.

'I live here,' Blaise answered, his voice cracking. He looked around. 'I think… yeah, this is my house. I didn't get a renovation...' It was his house and his room, but the furniture were different…

'This is gorgeous and all,' Hermione spoke taking a good look, 'but don't you think the room suits a married couple. Think about redecorating.'

'I told you, I didn't do it,' Blaise groaned. 'See, you _are_ in my house!'

Hermione grabbed him by the collar of the black t-shirt he was wearing, 'Zabini, tell me what's going on!' She then paused and took a good look at him. 'Say, you look older.'

'So do you,' Blaise examined her.

Hermione scowled. 'What?' Blaise asked confused.

'This is not good. This is not good,' Hermione started muttering.

'Hey, look at the bright sight,' Blaise smirked lying down. 'At least we're not nude.'

Hermione had to agree. He was right about that. 'We still have to figure out...'

Two lumps sitting on her and Blaise's legs cut her off. Two small voices spoke unison, 'Mum, Dad, what's for breakfast?'


	2. Chapter 2

**Surprise, Surprise**

**Disclaimer: I don't own J. K. Rowling's creations.**

**Chapter 2: Welcome to the Future! **

Hermione and Blaise stared at the speakers. One was a little five-year-old boy. He had dark brown curls and brown eyes. Beside him was a little girl of the same age. She looked the same except with longer hair, blue eyes, and obviously more feminine.

Hermione reacted quickly and grasped on to their situation. 'We'll be there soon, honey. Why don't you two go play until we're ready?'

'Okay, Mum,' the little boy scurried off the bed with his sister and quickly left.

'Zabini,' she said slowly. 'You do understand what has happened?'

He just nodded dumbly. After snapping out of it, 'This has got to be one messed up future. Like I'm going to marry you when there are so many gorgeous witches out there!' he jumped out of the bed.

'Can you say _shallow_?' she rolled her eyes. 'Beside, you are not exactly my first choice either.'

'Whatever, Granger,' he said. 'We have more important things to deal with.'

'Like…'

'How do you ask your own kids their names?' Blaise crossed his arms.

Hermione thought for a while. 'If you had twins, what would you name them?'

'Luke and Leia,' he replied simply.

'Ha ha, _Star Wars_,' she laughed sarcastically, not even bothering to figure out how a Pureblood would know of the movies. 'No, seriously.'

Blaise gave her a look and she knew he was being serious. 'What's _Star Wars_?'

* * *

A few minutes later, Blaise was in the kitchen getting the kids breakfast while Hermione decided to hunt around to discover anything that might help them adapt. Being the good person he was, Blaise had offered to handle the kids. ("If you don't make them breakfast and cooperate, I'm going to blast you to oblivion, Zabini!") 

He quickly set the table with juice, cereal, eggs, and pancakes when he noticed his "son" coming down and heading to the living room with a smaller object. Once he realized the smaller "object" was a little girl of around two, he nearly dropped the glass he was drinking from.

'GRA-HERMIONE!' he called. He had to call her by her first name so the kids wouldn't get suspicious.

'What?' she dashed down to the kitchen quickly. 'I found out their names: Marcello and Maria –and it seems that you got your way because their middles names are Luke and Leia.'

'There's another one,' he told her.

'What?' she grabbed him by the collar. 'What have you done to me?'

'It's a little girl,' he explained, 'a two-year-old with brown hair and blue eyes.'

'And what's her middle name?' Hermione asked sarcastically while rolling her eyes, 'Padme?'

'No…what's up with these references?' he paused. 'Her first and middle name will start with the same letters as her siblings… I know, Mia Lena Zabini.'

'Yeah right-'

'Mum,' walked in Marcello. 'Mia's hungry.'

Blaise smirked. Hermione scowled. 'What's Mia middle name?' she asked him.

'Lena,' he answered confused.

'I hate you,' she mouthed to Blaise.

'I love you, too,' he mouthed back laughing.

'Why don't you bring your sisters here for breakfast,' she ushered him away.

After Marcello left, Blaise rummaged through the cupboards. 'Judging from these bottles, I'd say she still needs them.'

'Your power of deduction never ceases to amaze me,' Hermione said sarcastically.

'Whatever,' he replied, filling the bottle with juice. Hermione was going to feed Mia cereal for toddlers.

Once the kids were settled, and they all finished eating (the two managed not to bite of each other's heads off), the doorbell rang.

Blaise gave Hermione a confused look before grabbing his fifth helping of coffee and heading towards the door. He was shocked as soon as he opened it, and sprayed coffee all over the face of his guest.

'Oh, that's nice,' said Harry, wiping the liquid off his face and walking in.

Behind him, Ginny along with a miniature Harry entered. 'It's a good way to wake up,' she laughed.

The ex-Slytherin was baffled. It took him a while to form a proper sentence. 'He-her- a kid-Po- HERMIONE!' called Blaise.

'What?' she stormed in. As soon as she saw who were here, she let out a squeal. 'Harry, Ginny!' she pulled them into a hug.

It was easy to say the Potters were very confused. 'Um, hey, Hermione,' greeted Harry.

'Would you excuse us for a second?' Blaise interrupted with a smile. It was so forceful that his eye was twitching. He grabbed Hermione's hand and led her into the kitchen. The kids had gone upstairs.

'What are Potter and Weaselette doing here?' he asked.

She rolled her eyes. 'What do you think? Obviously you and I are married and I'm friends with Harry and Ginny, so you must be friends with them now, too.'

'Oi, Blaise, hurry up!' Harry called from the other room.

Blaise glared at his "wife." Hermione sighed and went to them. 'Harry, what are you guys doing here, anyway?'

'The Junior Quidditch League,' he answered simply.

When Hermione raised her eyebrows in confusion, Ginny went on to explain. 'Remember, we signed up the kids this year?'

That was the first time Hermione noticed the messy, black-haired, seven-year-old boy with brown bespectacled eyes.

'Sirius?' she asked surprised. 'My, I didn't even notice you.'

'Sirius Black is dead,' Blaise stated to her quietly. 'What are you talking about?'

'I'm talking about their son, you moron,' she whispered back huffily.

He just rolled his eyes in response.

'What's going on with you two?' Harry asked, seemingly bewildered at their strange behaviour.

'Oh,' Hermione quickly tried to make up an excuse. 'You know; rough night.'

Ginny placed her hands on her hips. 'Were you making lesson plans all night again?' she asked. 'It is summer break, relax.'

'Excuse me?' she asked. 'Lesson plans?'

'Charms ... for your students... at Hogwarts,' the redhead said slowly.

'Yeah… that's it,' the brunette agreed. 'So, are Ron's kids going as well?'

'Hermione are you sure you're okay?' Harry asked. 'Ron only has one son and he's the same age as Mia.'

'What she meant was, are we taking the little ones along?' Blaise covered.

'No,' Ginny replied. 'Lavender's off today so she's taking care of her son. 'Mione and I are going to stay home and watch little Mia while I teach her how to make my famous chocolate cake.'

'Great,' the brunette muttered dryly.

'Mummy, Mummy can you fix this?' asked Marcello, dashing up to Hermione with Maria and Mia at his heel.

'Sure,' she said absent-mindedly using a spell to fix the tear at the sleeve of his Quidditch robes. Then she picked Mia up into her arms.

Blaise quickly picked the twins up around the waists with each arm and started to walk outside. 'Well, Potter, let's go. We haven't got all day.'

'Hi, Sirius!' chorused the twins.

'Hey!' Sirius went after them.

'Wait, don't we get breakfast?' Harry asked, surprised.

'Gee, let me think…' the Italian paused for a second, 'No.'

Harry sighed as he followed Blaise and the kids out, while Hermione mentally prepared to spend the day with Ginny.


	3. Chapter 3

**Surprise, Surprise**

**Disclaimer: I don't own J. K. Rowling's creations.**

**Chapter 3: A Day With the Potters **

After Harry and Blaise left, there was a bit of an awkward pause –at least for Hermione. It only lasted for two seconds though because there was one question buzzing through the bookworm's head. She grabbed the redhead's shoulder and demanded, 'We're not friends with Draco Malfoy, are we?'

'HELL NO!' Ginny exclaimed. 'Why would you think that?'

The brunette sighed with relief. 'Oh, no reason. Is he still in Azkaban?'

'No…' Ginny looked at her friend, suspiciously. 'Are you sure everything's okay? He was released awhile back, remember?'

'Oh, don't worry,' Hermione replied with a wave of her hand, leading Ginny to the kitchen, little Mia still in her arms. 'I'm just stressed out after having an awfully weird and realistic dream. Not sure what's real anymore.'

She was quite satisfied with her lie. She guessed after being "married" to a Slytherin, it rubbed off, although, she obviously couldn't remember. The thing was, it wasn't over yet though. She had to get some answers out of Ginny without getting her suspicious. After Ginny sat down at the kitchen table, the older witch cautiously spoke.

'Gin, let's play a game,' she said while absentmindedly rocking Mia on her lap. The little girl got bored though and slid of her mother's lap to play with some of her toys lying around.

'What sort of game?' the redhead asked, raising an eyebrow.

'Well, you're my best girlfriend, so let's see how well you know me,' she explained. 'I'll ask some questions and you'll answer.'

'Oh-kay…'

'How did Blaise and I start dating?' she asked. It had been bugging her. How the hell did she end up marrying him of all people?

'You guys ran into each other, got into a spat, so next time you met, he invited you out for coffee as an apology,' answered Ginny. 'You two became friends afterwards and it went from there.'

_Does she mean the encounter at the bookstore? _Hermione asked herself. 'Okay, here's another one. Where did we go for our honeymoon?'

Ginny was sure Hermione was hiding something. It wasn't like her best friend to play these games. 'Bahamas.'

'Really?' the brunette spoke up, blowing her cover. 'How… exotic.'

'HA!' Ginny leaped of her seat and slammed the table with her hands. 'I knew something was up. You two went two Italy and you fully well know that! Now, don't you dare lie to me, Hermione Jane Granger-Zabini! Tell me what's going on, now! Unless,' her eyes were wide open, 'unless you're not Hermione!'

Hermione looked slightly nervous at her outburst. 'Don't worry, I am, but…well, you wouldn't believe me even if I told you.'

'Try me,' Ginny challenged.

'You better sit down,' she took a deep breath. 'Okay this is what happened. Last thing I remember is being twenty-one and having a bad run in with _Zabini,_ then waking up married to him with kids. How can seven damned years pass without my knowing?'

Ginny blinked a few times and stared at her before bursting into laughter. She stopped, noticing Hermione's dark glare. 'Oh, you're serious.'

'No, that's your son,' she replied sarcastically.

'Oh, please, Hermione, that joke got old in the Marauders' Era,' Ginny said with a wave of her hand.

'GIN! What am I going to do?' she sighed desperately.

The redhead thought for a second. 'I guess I'll just have to fill you in … are you sure you haven't hit your head recently?' she asked.

'No,' Hermione growled slightly. 'Unless you're suggesting Blaise and I coincidentally hit our head the same time.'

'Well, things happen when you're having a little fun at night,' Ginny suggested innocently and Hermione turned tomato red.

'Shut up,' she said recovering from Ginny's comment.

'Well, we'll try to figure this out,' the redhead got up. 'First thing's first, though. Blaise loves my chocolate cake, and like I said, I'm going to teach you how to make it today!' she exclaimed.

'Oh, you've got to be kidding me,' Hermione stood up, rolling her eyes, but she knew there was no point of trying to change the redhead's mind. Nearby, Mia giggled, playing with her blocks.

**

* * *

**

Blaise really had no idea where he was going when he stormed out of the house with the twins, and Harry with Sirius at his heels. His mind didn't know, but his legs and instinct must have, since Harry wasn't complaining.

They finally arrived at the Wizard's Recreation Center at the outskirt of Diagon Alley. 'Daddy, look!' Sirius pointed at something nearby.

Harry turned to see what his son was pointing at. It was a labyrinth, a new addition for kids at the Center. 'Oi, Blaise, stop.'

The Italian wizard dropped his kids, who he still were dragging around, and turned to face Harry. 'What?' he growled.

Marcello and Maria, like Sirius, immediately became in awe with the labyrinth. 'Ooh, Papa, can we try, please?' Maria asked pleadingly.

'No,' Blaise answered immediately.

'He's right, we're going to be late for Quidditch,' Harry gently nudged the kids away. 'We'll go after practice.'

'Okay!' the three chorused cheerfully and ran ahead.

'I never agreed to that,' the indigo-eyed wizard frowned.

'Yeah, so?' the Boy-Who-Lived-to-Become-a-Man-to-Conquer-the-Dark-Lord grinned.

Blaise just scowled, trailing after the bespectacled wizard.

* * *

When they arrived at the Junior Quidditch League practice, Sirius and the twins joined their team. Blaise frowned looking around. 'Po-Harry are you sure this is right? All the kids here look eight or older.'

'Jeez, you're the one who used your money to make the kids try out for your big ego,' Harry rolled his eyes impatiently. Honestly, what was wrong with the Zabinis today? 'Then the coach found out our kids were giftedly skilled, and made a few exception.'

'Oh, yeah…' Blaise played along, kind of lamely.

* * *

'Daddy, can we go to the maze, please, please, please?' the twins begged, pouting and pulling his arms.

'No, no, no,' Blaise said firmly and tiredly. The Quidditch practice had been rough. The twins and Sirius snitched the coach's wand and hexed his broom. The guy ended up in the hospital.

The kids weren't blamed but the parents were. Now, he, an Unspeakable, and Harry, an Auror, were stuck coaching for the kids' team.

'Come on, be a sport and let them,' Harry said. 'If you want, I'll take the twins with Sirius while you wait outside,' he compromised.

'Please?' the twins eventually won him over with their adorable puppy eyes.

'Oh, all right,' he agreed and Harry took the kids in. After five minutes of waiting though, a small smirk appeared on the ex-Slytherin's face. He took out his wand and went into the labyrinth.

It was a simple maze so it only took him a minute to find them. Thanks to his Unspeakable skill, he was cleverly able to hide and keep out of their sight and remain quiet. He had to be careful though, since Harry was an experienced Auror.

He used his wand to transfigure himself. His form wouldn't last that long so he'd have to be quick.

* * *

Harry didn't know what, but something seemed out of place. He looked to see if any of the kids done anything, but they were just goofing around, trying to find different paths around the labyrinth.

After awhile he couldn't see them, but his Auror senses told him exactly where they were. He wasn't worried until—

'AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!'

He dashed around the maze until he reached the kids. With them was a giant Minotaur. Overcome with worry and panic for their safety, he took his wand out and blindly charged at the beast. His face slammed into the palm of its strong hand, causing him to run in place.

He felt the hand shrink, but, of course, couldn't see because it was covering his eyes. He soon realized though that the kids weren't crying, but laughing. He moved back to see it was Blaise who was holding him back and laughing with the kids.

Harry sighed with relief and gave out a laugh. He turned to the kids. 'He let you guys in on this, didn't he?' The three nodded, trying to catch their breaths.

Blaise just smirked and led them out of the labyrinth. Finally, something good turned out in this strange and whacked out day.


	4. Chapter 4

**Surprise, Surprise**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of J. K. Rowling's creations.**

**Chapter 4: Live the Dream (or Nightmare) **

That night, over dinner, Blaise and Hermione pretty much had a glaring contest. It was surprising that they managed to it while giving each other death glares. The Italian wizard wanted to take his dinner into the living room, but his "wife" forced him to stay, saying that they always had family dinner unless he was away on Unspeakable duty. If he left, the kids would be suspicious.

The twins looked back and forth between their parents. Mia was too young to feel the tension between the two.

'Why is Mama glaring a hole into Papa's head?' asked Maria, slightly nervous.

'I don't know,' Marcello said shaking his head. 'Maybe their having a staring contest showdown.'

* * *

After dinner, the kids ran upstairs to play. Blaise joined Hermione who was clearing everything from dinner in the kitchen.

'So, what happens to them when you're teaching at Hogwarts?' he asked. Hermione had told him that Ginny now knew…

**_Flashback_ **

'_You told the Weaselette?' Blaise was shocked. 'Let me guess, Potter will soon know, followed by the entire the Weasel tribe, who will jump at the opportunity kill a Slytherin like me!'_

'_Stop overreacting!' Hermione said. 'I –We can't do this on our own. Ginny's one of my best friends. She won't tell Harry anything without my permission, let alone all the Weasleys.'_

'_Better be,' he growled, narrowing his eyes._

**_End Flashback_ **

Actually, now that he thought about it, he took the news pretty well.

'The Potters own some sort store in Hogsmeade that Ginny runs,' Hermione informed, ' and you built a small house there, too. So, when summer's over, we move into that house. Ginny watches the kids while I'm teaching and I come back home afterwards and on the weekends. According to her, I also take them to watch the Quidditch games, and you sometimes join us.'

'Ooh... kay…'

'I really don't see the point of two houses, though,' she told him.

'Hey, this house is memory!' he said firmly. 'I'm not getting rid of it.'

'She said that you said that,' the bushy-haired witch sighed.

* * *

Two hours later, Blaise was flipping channels trying to find something to watch in the den (yes, they had a TV, and he knew what it was) while Hermione was reading.

After a few more minutes of silence, Hermione spoke. 'Go put them to bed,' she told him without looking up.

'Why me?' he asked sitting up.

'Because I gave them a bath,' she answered simply.

He rolled his eyes and left to do the task, but only because there was nothing on TV.

After a few thuds, shrieks, yells, footsteps, and Blaise's shouting later, there was silence. Hermione decided to check on them.

Marcello and Maria's rooms were connected and they both were sound asleep. The room beside them was Mia's nursery, which was across from hers –and Blaise's room. The youngest Zabini was sleeping, but Blaise was lying flat on his back on the floor, looking as if he barely survived a stampede.

'So,' Hermione smirked, looking down at him, 'You finally got them to bed.'

He glared at her, getting up. 'Shut up.'

**

* * *

**

The next morning, Hermione woke up wrapped in a sleeping Blaise's arms. If she were another girl, she might've woke up screaming, not remembering the previous day, or be blushing beat red to wake up with a handsome wizard. This was Hermione Granger though… or was it Zabini now? Heck, whatever.

She wiggled her way out of his grasp and got out of bed. She took a quick shower and got dressed. When she returned, Blaise was still sleeping, now holding on to a pillow. She smirked and pushed him out of bed.

_THUD!_

Blaise got up looking around, blinking. '………Ow…' it took him awhile to comprehend the pain in his head.

'Merlin, you're slow this morning,' Hermione laughed at him.

'Need coffee,' he groaned, lying back down on the ground.

* * *

Later on, after the kids were fed and Blaise had his coffee, Ginny flooed over to see the "happy couple."

'Hey, Gin,' Hermione greeted. 'What are you doing here?'

'Don't tell me we have to feed you and Potter everyday?' Blaise said going through his fifth cup of coffee.

Ginny decided to ignore his comment. After all, this wasn't the Blaise from her time. 'I decided to take the twins and Mia to play with Sirius so you guys can have some time to work things out.'

When Ginny left with the kids, there was a bit of an awkward silence. Hermione broke it. 'Okay, let's start with what we know…I'm a Professor at Hogwarts and you're a top Unspeakable at the Department of Mystery.'

'We live in this house during the summer, and have a house at Hogsmeade where we live most of the year,' Blaise added, cooperating. It was too early to argue for his taste and maybe, just maybe, he had too much coffee (10 cups), although he'd never admit it.

'We have three kids, and the Potters and Weasleys seem to like you enough,' she said not understanding that one bit. Harry and Ginny accepting Blaise she could understand, along with most of the Weasleys actually, but Ron…? Heck, what did she know? She never actually spoke to the Ron of this time.

'Sirius is friends with Marcello and Maria, and they're in the Junior Quidditch League, which Po-Harry and I are now stuck coaching,' he spoke referring to yesterday.

'Yeah, and according to Ginny, we started going out after the "Bookshop Encounter,"' said Hermione. 'All though her version is quite different from ours…'

Blaise recalled what Hermione told him about her conversation with Ginny. 'We landed in this situation right after that encounter. Do you think something happened then?'

'Maybe…' she replied deep in thought. Right then a post owl entered and delivered a letter to Blaise.

He tore it open and quickly read it over. His eyes were wide open by the end of it in horror. Hermione didn't think it was possible for someone like Blaise to show that kind of emotion.

'No, no, no, no,' he kept repeating under his breath. 'She's not coming over. No, no, NO!' he was pacing around the living room now.

'Who's coming over?' Hermione asked cautiously.

'My mother's sister,' he replied bitterly. 'My crazy nutcase of an aunt, and my idiotic cousin! NO!' he groaned falling onto the couch.

_Okay…overreacting much? _Hermione thought, leaving him to his misery.


	5. Chapter 5

**Surprise, Surprise**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of J. K. Rowling's creations.**

**Chapter 5: One Word: Insanity **

Hermione was in the kitchen feeding Mia when she heard the front door open. A few minutes later, a dirt covered Blaise came in with Marcello and Maria. His jaws were tight and he was holding the grinning twins by the collars of their Quidditch robes. He looked completely pissed.

'What happened?' his "wife" asked wearily while "_scourgifying_" the twins cleaned.

'Quidditch happened,' he replied as if that explained everything while he helped himself to some coffee. In a way it did, but Hermione wanted an in-depth explanation.

'Details, Blaise,' she said rolling her eyes and sending the twins upstairs.

'They're a bunch of maniacs, I tell you!' he burst as he played with little Mia. Hermione raised an eyebrow but let him continue. 'It took Po-Harry and I twenty frigging minutes to get them under control, and then some idiot snuck in sugary candies and passed them out and they all went hyper on us!' he growled recalling the event. 'You try handling ten (three extras) five to nine-year-olds!'

'You're exaggerating,' she tried, although it did sound bad.

'Harry got knocked out _three times _by a bludger,' he continued, 'and I got tackled at the same time by all ten of those hyperactive brats! And those were the least painful moments!'

'Hey, two of those are our hyperactive brats,' she scolded, taking Mia into her arms.

'I hate kids,' he muttered, burying his face in his hands.

'Oh, suck it up and take it like a man,' she said resuming to her work. 'Oh, by the way, your relatives are going to be here for dinner today.'

'NOOOOOOO!'

* * *

**That evening… **

'Aunt Clare, great to see you,' Blaise greeted with false enthusiasm. Hermione stifled her laughter at his obvious discomfort. His aunt didn't notice though.

The woman had black hair and was quite pudgy. At least a decade older than her sister and was not the beauty she was rumoured to be. 'My darling nephew! Your cousin will be here shortly,' she pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. He looked horrorstricken and sent Hermione a pleading look-- a clear cry for help.

She spoke again releasing him. 'You look sick, dear, I still don't think this _marriage_ is working out. It hardly seems appropriate,' she said, hardly hiding the distaste in her voice.

Blaise frowned slightly, while Hermione scowled. It wasn't like she wanted to be married to him, but this woman had no right to talk about her like that –indirectly or not. She cleared her throat to show her presence to the woman.

Aunt Clare's eyes went wide in surprise, noticing Hermione for the first time. 'Hermione, darling, how _are_ you doing?'

She could just hear the sugary falseness dripping from her voice. 'Pleasantly, thanks. Now, if you'll excuse me, I better go and finish preparing dinner.'

Blaise took this as an opportunity to escape. 'I better go help her,' he said pointing towards the kitchen. 'You know with Mia and everything. Have you met the twins? Marcello, Maria, come keep your Great-Aunt company!' he bellowed upstairs. He then dashed off smiling sheepishly, leaving his aunt in confusion.

* * *

Hermione was setting the dining table, fuming inside. Blaise was watching Mia and helping her out after he greeted his cousin Lauren. He had warned her about them, but she hadn't placed much thought into it. They were such... such... argh!

A few minutes later, everything was ready. 'Dinner!' she called. Marcello and Maria slowly dragged themselves into the dining room as Blaise went to get his aunt and cousin.

'You two look dead,' Hermione commented as they sat down.

Maria spoke, 'If it's possible to die from boredom--'

'—Then yes, we are dead,' Marcello finished. Hermione smiled at the twins antics, but it vanished for a second as the Terror Two entered with Blaise. Ever since they got here, they did nothing but gossip and attempt to put pathetic beliefs into the twins' heads. Thank, Merlin, her kids drifted away into "la la land" after the first minute, and were quite smart for their age.

Lauren (dark brown-hair, dull brown-eyes and not exactly a looker) gave her a dark glare before sitting down with her mother. Blaise sighed, preparing for the worst as he settled Mia into her highchair.

Throughout the main course, there wasn't much conversation except for a few comments in the beginning (Hermione's lack of taste, and poor Blaise having to live through this everyday). She did notice Lauren sneak glances at Blaise, now and then, and suspected she fancied him. She shuddered at the thought considering he and Lauren were first cousins.

The real conversation started during dessert when Lauren brought up her past suitors. 'Of course he was cute and from a _decent_ bloodline, but didn't have the money!' she said haughtily about her third suitor, not noticing that no one, aside from her mother, was a least bit interested. Hermione tried to ignore her, but her high-pitched voice would just drill through her thoughts.

'And then there was Ted,' she continued in ignorance. 'He was a looker and filthy rich. Such a shame that he turned out to be a Muggle-born…' From what Hermione could tell, Lauren had three expectations in her partners: Pureblood, rich, and handsome.

'Yes, I know what you mean, dear,' spoke Aunt Clare. 'I couldn't imagine being surrounded by Muggle contraptions all day. Not to mention not having enough money to enjoy at least a 1000 galleon shopping spree every week!' she spoke in feign horror. 'I feel for you, Blaise.'

'Really, cousin, you could do so much better,' Lauren said fluttering her eyelashes at him much to Hermione and Blaise's disgust. 'You have the looks, the money and the blood.'

'I happen to like my family, my house, and my life,' he said through gritted teeth.

At that point Hermione had enough. They were sitting around a round table. Going clockwise, it was Marcello, Hermione, Maria, Blaise (with Mia on her high chair slightly behind him), Lauren, and Clare. She whispered carefully to her son handing him her wand under the table. She then turned and spoke quietly to Maria, unnoticed by her guests but seen by Blaise. He pretended to be oblivious.

Lauren was again complaining to her mother, 'She was a half-blood, know-it-all bitch. He was the perfect guy, meeting all expectation but he had to go for that half-blood slu--' she never got to finish because Maria who was sitting across from her had somehow managed to knock over a glass of pumpkin juice on her. Lauren's eyes were wide, her mouth opened like a fish, and she had her arms out in a shielding manner. She let out ear-piercing shriek.

Before her mother could comfort her. Marcello "frightened" by the noise caused "accidental" magic, which dumped an entire bowl of ice cream sundae on Aunt Clare. The two women stalked off to the washroom angrily to clean up.

As soon as they left, Hermione's satisfied smile turned to giggle as the rest of her family soon joined her laughter. She and Blaise both knew they'd be gone by tomorrow morning at the latest.


	6. Chapter 6

**Surprise, Surprise**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of J. K. Rowling's creations.**

**Chapter 6: Getting Used to Life **

Things returned to fairly normal the next morning in the Zabini household. Like it was predicted, Aunt Clare and Lauren were out the door in a moment, the previous night. Today marked the start of the second week in this crazy universe. Yes, unbelievably, it's only been a week. The first day was their day with the Potters. The second was the day Blaise freaked from his Aunt's letter. On their seventh –yesterday was the visit from the crazy relatives. Yes, it's been a very busy week for the two.

Currently, Hermione was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, while the twins just woke up and were getting ready. Mia was still asleep. That brings us to Blaise, who was in the living room, going over his previous Unspeakable notes.

He was going to be out of the house by noon for a few days, since he was called from work. The news was delightful to Hermione –okay, not so much. They weren't like cats and dogs anymore. They can actually consider each other friends now. Not to mention, there was no way she was taking care of three kids alone. Especially Marcello, who could be a stubborn mule like his father.

The doorbell interrupted their daily business. Since Blaise was closest to the door, he reluctantly got up to answer it. He opened the door to find…

Harry, Ginny, and Sirius –the Potters… surprise, surprise…

He let them in rolling his eyes. Why not? They were going to barge in anyway. He raised his eyebrows, realizing there were more people.

Ron Weasley, Lavender Brown-Weasley, and…their kid that he didn't know the name of.

'Hey, Blaise,' Lavender gave him a brilliant happy smile. _Excessively cheerful_, Blaise's eyes twitched slightly.

''Ello,' their two-year-old son, smiled. Blaise forced out a smile.

Ron followed them in, greeting Blaise with a grunt. Blaise closed the door after them. Who replaced Weasley with Crabbe –or Goyle?

The Italian wizard decided he was done playing host. Of course, he never actually played it, but that's not the point. 'What the hell are you guys doing here?'

'Blaise, don't swear in front of the kids,' Lavender scolded.

He just glared at her before turning to the rest of them. Harry spoke cheekily. 'We never got our breakfast last week, so we decided to come this week.'

_Unbelievable, _Blaise thought with a look of disbelief.

'Oh, and they wanted to see you,' Ginny added, pointing to Lavender and Ron, 'and Hermione invited us.'

'Hermione!' he rushed into the kitchen frantically. She turned to him slightly annoyed. 'Care to explain why there're more mouth to feed?'

Marcello and Maria, who were sitting at the kitchen table looked up. 'Sirius is here?' Maria asked.

'Awesome,' Marcello added as the two dashed out of the kitchen.

'You were going to be gone for a few days,' Hermione explained. 'Harry and Ron decided to take the kids out for the day, while the girls and I have a Girls-Night-In.'

'So, I'm that replaceable?' he joked, crossing his arms, and pouting.

Hermione laughed walking towards him. 'No, I can never find someone as weird and overdramatic as you,' she grinned, pinching his nose before going to greet her friends.

Blaise grinned following her, maybe there was more to her than he gave credit for.

* * *

The morning went by surprisingly quickly, and in the end, everyone was alive. They found out Lavender and Parvati were planning to start their own clothing line of dress robes, and were currently working with Madam Malkin.

Oh, and they discovered that Lavender and Ron's son was named Jamie.

Soon it was 30 minutes until noon, and Blaise was preparing to leave. One thing was bugging him though. 'Why has Weasley been glaring daggers at me all morning?' he whispered to Hermione.

Marcello happened to hear and answered, 'Don't you remember, Dad? The last time you saw him, you two played chess. You're the first person to ever beat him.'

Blaise raised an eyebrow. He had heard of Weasley's skills during Hogwarts. With a shrug, he stood up to leave.'

* * *

**Later on… **

'So Parvati placed an Illusion Charm on the hideous dress so she sees it as one of the latest fashion –and it was so hilarious! She actually wore it on her date! Padma got photos!' Lavender exclaimed. She was telling Hermione and Ginny about Cho Chang ordering them to design a custom dress for her "big date." She was being such a snobby diva that Parvati tricked her.

'You should bring it over sometime,' Hermione said smiling. She spent the whole day with the girls. Harry and Ron left a little after noon with the three older kids. Jamie and Mia were both easygoing, so they didn't interfere with the three mothers' day off. Now, it was late afternoon, and they both were taking a nap. Ginny and Lavender even convinced Hermione to let them give her a makeover. Currently, they were in the den watching a movie.

'I will,' Lavender beamed. 'Hey, do you mind if I used your kitchen. I just learned this new recipe and I'm dying to try it. I want your opinions, because frankly, Ron eats everything.'

Ginny laughed while Hermione smiled nodding. Lavender quickly headed towards the kitchen.

Once she was out of hearing range, the redhead turned to her remaining friend. 'So, how was your first week with Blaise?' she asked with a grin.

'It was …interesting, to say the least,' Hermione answered thoughtfully. 'It's full of surprises and always kept me on my toes.'

'See, he isn't so bad,' Ginny said. 'After all, you married him. Even if you are in some parallel universe, the other you and Blaise were the same. Some events just occurred differently.'

'I suppose,' spoke the brunette. 'We really are the same, just seem to be more relaxed and …immature?'

Ginny raised an eyebrow, but then her expression changed into one of realization, 'Yeah, why is that?'

'Maybe, because we all had to grow up quickly because of the war,' Hermione said. 'Now we're taking this opportunity to act childish with our kids –with the balance of right amount of responsibility, of course.'

'Of course!' Ginny agreed hurriedly with grin. 'Or, it could be just you and Blaise, since you two are still living seven years in the past.'

* * *

Later that night, Harry and Ron returned with the kids, looking incredibly tired. 'What's the matter with you two?' asked Lavender. Her recipe ended up being some sort of spaghetti sauce; it was surprisingly good. 'It's not like you haven't been out with the kids before.' The mentioned kids had already run upstairs -except for Sirius, who waited patiently beside his father.

'Not without Blaise,' Harry answered wearily. 'It would've been so much easier with him.'

'He's pretty good with kids, and knows how to entertain them,' Ron said. 'Beside, his sarcastic sense of humour is always appreciated and was greatly missed.'

'He's just disappointed that he lost gambling at the Leaky Cauldron,' Harry rolled his eyes. 'Blaise was there in past tries, and he has a habit of being right about certain things.'

'You were gambling with the kids!' Lavender shrieked. Apparently she became much more homely and responsible after marriage.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, and turned to Ron, distracting Lavender for a bit. 'Only this morning did you look prepared to kill Blaise.'

'Yeah, well, you know me. I tend to hold on to unnecessary grudges,' the redhead shrugged. 'He's an all right guy once you get to know him.'

Ginny smiled smugly at Hermione, as Ron gave a quick goodbye before Flooing away hurriedly with an angry Lavender at his tail.

Hermione retaliated with a dark glare, which Harry, thankfully was oblivious to. Sirius on the other hand did notice, but he was too young to consider anything of it. Not to mention his mother started to fuss over him.

Harry turned to his best friend. 'Now, Hermione, if you don't mind, I think I'm going to steal my wife and kid back for the night.'

At that moment, the fireplace lit up and Lavender stepped out. 'Forgot Jamie,' she laughed sheepishly before heading upstairs to get her son.

The three adults just blinked while Sirius laughed. Hermione spoke, 'Yeah, sure, Harry.' She turned to Ginny, 'Thanks, for the great day.' She gave them both a quick hug (ruffled Sirius's hair), and one to Lavender once she returned with little Jamie.

When the five left, Hermione sighed and ascended upstairs to prepare her kids for bed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Surprise, Surprise**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of J. K. Rowling's creations.**

**Chapter 7: Putting Together a Family **

Hermione tried to get into a routine, but for the first time since arriving in this strange world, did she understand the pain of motherhood. Days went by and soon it was a week and two days since Blaise's departure.

Boy, did she learn how things ran so much smoother with her "husband" around. While quite mature and smart for their age, Hermione was reminded that Marcello and Maria were still only five years old.

Some of the things she had to go through…

_"Mum, Maria took my favourite car!" _

_"Mama, Marcello cut of my doll's hair!" _

_"Mum, Maria ate my chocolate fudge!" _

_"Mummy, Marcello's being mean and scary!" _

_"Mama, Maria drew in my favourite book!" _

_"Mum, Marcello put a bug in my milk!" _

_"Mum, Maria's being all whiny!" _

_"Mum, Marcello locked me in the closet!" _

And then there was…

_"Can we go to the park, please, please, please?" _

_"I don't want to take a bath! You can't make me!" _

_"She started it! Why am I getting in trouble?" _

_"No, I don't want to sleep yet!" _

_"He's not giving my turn to watch TV!" _

_"Why can't she watch upstairs?" _

_"Ew, I don't want to eat this!" _

There was also the fact that the twins were close to their father, and the only predictable thing about them was that before falling asleep, they would both ask when Blaise was coming home. Hermione actually found the fact quite sweet and touching. It showed her that Blaise was a good father.

Then there was Mia. The two-year-old needed constant attention and care. She needed to be loved, fed, played with, comforted, bathed, and not to mention changed along with many other things. It was easy to say that it was a very exhausting week and two days for the inexperienced mother of three.

The only good news during the time was the news of Ginny's pregnancy. She and Harry were expecting another bundle of joy. Ginny told her that she hadn't been really feeling sick or anything until a few days ago, and only just found out the previous day, but there was also the fact that she didn't want to say anything about the suspicions she did have until Hermione was a little settled in to her new life.

Anyhow, it was in the late evening, when Hermione was trying to get Mia to sleep, the front door open and a familiar male voice called out, "I'm home."

"DADDY!" Marcello and Maria both tackled Blaise as soon as he entered the living room. Hermione with Mia joined them.

"Hey, you two," Blaise smiled at his kids who had their small arms wrapped around his legs. He bent down and ruffled their hairs and pulled them into hugs. "Shouldn't you two be in bed?"

"We missed you, Papa," Maria said softly, her arms now wrapped around Blaise's neck.

The actual Blaise of that time had been gone for bit longer periods a few times before, but the twins were too young to remember. In addition, with three kids, the Head of the Department of Mystery decided to be kind and didn't send him away for too long. No, he'd just have to make up the time as soon as the kids were older.

"I missed you both as well," said Blaise.

"How was the trip?" Marcello asked jumping up and down, all excited. He wanted to be an Unspeakable just like his father when he grew up.

"It was great," Blaise replied standing up. "How about you two go to bed and I promise I'll come up in a few minutes to tuck you in and tell you all about it?" he suggested.

The twins grinned and ran off.

Blaise approached Hermione and his youngest child. "Dada," gurgled Mia as he took her from Hermione's arms. She instantly fell asleep and Hermione looked relieved.

"Miss me?" Blaise asked cheekily. He played the part of the hardworking father coming home and leaned down to kiss his wife.

"Don't," Hermione blocked his face with her hand. There was a hint of amusement in her voice. "I would love to say I didn't, but yes, in a way I did. Merlin, you were right! Now I know how you felt during that Quidditch practice."

He grinned. "How about you get a day off tomorrow? You don't have to lift a finger. I'll do everything –cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the kids… you name it."

She looked at him in disbelief. _Who is he, and what has he done to Zabini?_

He realized her doubt and spoke again, "I mean it. You deserve it. It must have been killer week –and two days."

"Are you sure?" she asked him, "you just got back."

"Don't worry," he waved it off. "I actually returned to the Department of Mystery yesterday, but I had some reports to finish, so I'm rested enough."

She grinned slowly. "I have never been good with kids, you know, I just never been around them. I always wanted kids when I was older-"

"-But not like this," he finished, "yeah, I know."

"You're really good, though," Hermione complimented. She couldn't believe it. They were actually having a normal conversation –well, as normal as it could get.

"I had a younger half-brother," he said somewhat solemnly. "He would have been eleven in our time."

"Oh, I didn't know that," she was surprised.

"He died when the original structure of this house was burnt down," he told her with an empty voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she gave him her sincere condolence. Hermione bit her lips. For a moment he looked lost holding onto his daughter.

"Yeah, well, the past is the past," he swiftly kissed her cheek, "goodnight." He headed upstairs to put Mia in bed and to fulfill the promise he made to his other two children.

Hermione's hand slowly touched the spot where he kissed her. Blaise continued to surprise her each day. She just never knew what to expect from him.

**

* * *

**

The next morning, Hermione woke up to find everyone already up. On her way to the kitchen, she passed the kids' playroom. Maria was reading picture books while Marcello was playing with Sirius. Not questioning the appearance of her best friends' kid, she continued.

She found Mia playing in her playpen in a safe corner of the kitchen and Blaise preparing breakfast. Since Blaise had his back turned to her, she couldn't help but give him hug from behind because of their conversation the previous night.

"Good morning," he said turning around. "What did I do to deserve that?"

Hermione just shrugged and smiled as she sat down at the table.

"Here's your breakfast," he said, placing the typical breakfast in front of her –waffles, egg, coffee, etc. "The kids have already been fed and … I'm sure you saw Sirius.

She nodded as she started eating.

"Harry dropped him off. He's taking Ginny to St. Mungo's for a checkup."

"Thank you," she told him, "so I'm guessing you heard the family's big news."

"You mean the result from a hot, burning night of passion?" he laughed.

Hermione glared at him. "I see the old Blaise is back," she said, "I want my hug back."

"Oh, you want me to hug you because you can hug me all you want and so much more," he laughed but then straightened up at her glare, "joking, joking."

"Better be," she warned although the amusement was clear in her voice.

"Anyway, who hasn't?" he grinned taking a seat opposite to her. "It's all over the Ministry already and probably all over the press. While not receiving as much attention as Sirius' birth –since that was soon after the fall of the Dark Lord- but this one's still has his or her fair share of attention. I wouldn't be surprised if the Potters went into hiding."

"Oh boy," Hermione laughed lightly. "I feel so bad for them, Harry hates all these attention."

"Speaking of the Potters…" Blaise brought up, "if I recall correctly, their son wasn't born yet in our time, so how did you know his name is Sirius?"

"Lucky guess." He raised an eyebrow. "Okay, okay, they told me their first son would be named after Harry's godfather –Sirius Black."

"Oh…" he said understanding. "By the way, you might want to look at that," he pointed to a letter.

Confused, she picked it up and quickly read it over as she drank her coffee. "No way," she gasped, "Draco Malfoy is not coming over! Moreover, what is this part about seeing each other's godchildren again?"

"Did you read the part of Theodore and Daphne Nott?" Blaise asked.

Hermione glared at him. At the news of Draco, she completely overlooked them.

"Draco is apparently Mia's godfather and I was the godfather of Theo and Daphne's kid, Derek, back in our time," he explained. "They always said that whoever I marry would be the kid's godmother."

"Okay, fine," she said putting down the letter. "I can understand the Notts, but I thought you and Malfoy weren't friends."

"No…" he said. "I said I chose to not get involve in the war and had different opinions from the stereotypical Slytherin, but I never claimed to be not friends with Draco."

"But I never saw you two hanging out or anything," Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, I never really got out much, preferred to keep to myself," he said pouring himself a cup of coffee. "We hung in the common room and during the summer and whatnot."

Hermione groaned and finished her breakfast.

"Oh, come on," Blaise squeezed her shoulder encouragingly, "you handled Draco before. Just think of the good old days, like when you punched him in our third year."

"You know about that?" she looked at him.

"He wouldn't stop swearing at you for a week," he grinned as she smiled. "Beside, he turned out okay in the end. He ended up in jail because he couldn't undo the crimes he committed, but he did refuse to get pardoned because he knew he deserved it."

Hermione sighed in defeat. "Okay let's get this straight," she said after finishing the last bit of her coffee. "The Potters are Marcello's godparents, and Ron and Lavender are Maria's while Malfoy is Mia's?" Blaise nodded. "Remus and Tonks, who are apparently married, are the Potter kids' godparents while Ron didn't bother getting Jamie one because of their large family," she stated and Blaise simply agreed. "To finish things off, you and I are Derek Nott's godparents?"

"Yeah, that's about it," he said, "Derek and whatever other kid they might've had. Merlin, it seems so complicated."

"Okay," Hermione said getting up, "I'm going out for awhile. Oh, and Mia needs changing."

Blaise looked towards the giggling toddler as Hermione picked her up and gave her a kiss. She then handed Mia to him before heading upstairs to change and say goodbye to the twins and Sirius.

After Hermione left and Mia was changed, Blaise called over Marcello, Maria, and Sirius.

"What it is it, Dad?" Marcello asked.

"What can you tell me about your Uncles, Draco and Theo, and your Aunty Daphne?"

The twins looked at each other before starting to speak, and Sirius, who also met the three mentioned adults, added some comments. Blaise sighed; this was going to be a long day.


	8. Chapter 8

**Surprise, Surprise**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of J. K. Rowling's creations.**

**Chapter 8: Welcome to the Slytherins **

"You told me we weren't friends with Malfoy!" Hermione exclaimed to Ginny on the phone the next day. Yes, the Potters and the Zabinis had telephones.

"No…" Ginny said from the other end. "I said that _we _weren't friends with Malfoy –we as in Harry and I…and the rest of my family. Although Harry and I are somewhat of his _acquaintances._"

"So, you mean the other-me is friends with Malfoy?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"I wouldn't say "friends," but you two aren't mortal enemies anymore, either," the redhead explained. "Oh, come on, Hermione, like I said before, he's not _that_ bad anymore. He's more amusing than scary; Azkaban did him some good."

"Okay…" Hermione sighed and let out a small whimper. "I have to go," she said as she saw Blaise approaching. "Thanks again."

"No problem," and with that, they both hung up.

"So, how's Draco according to our lovely Mrs. Potter?" he asked.

"Like you," she replied and Blaise cocked his eyebrow. Best friends or not, he doubted he and Draco were that alike. "Both of you at the beginning appear to be spoiled, arrogant, aristocratic, jerks, but once we look past the Slytherin masks, you're both … cocky, weird, and just plain amusing."

"Hey!" he crossed his arms in an offended manner but then thought for a while, "Yeah," he said with an uncaring shrug.

"Apparently Malfoy and I still have the same sort of 'relationship' as before, but now it's more sarcastic and light-hearted," she continued. "Ginny said he's not so biased or prejudiced anymore."

"Well, that's good to hear," Blaise said, "because the kids really like him, and there's the doorbell." He went to answer it.

Few seconds later, she heard… "Theo, Daphne, great to see you two! Where's Draco?"

Hermione perked up; maybe Malfoy wasn't coming. A male voice, which she presumed was Theo, spoke, "he went off to Muggle London a few hours ago, we haven't seen him since."

Hermione found the thought of Malfoy in Muggle London strange. Shoving it aside, she went to greet the guests. There was a man with brown hair, and bespectacled olive-green eyes, and a woman with dark auburn hair, and gray eyes –Theodore Nott and Daphne Greengrass-Nott. She saw an eight-year-old boy identical to his father –except with Daphne's eyes and didn't were glasses- and guessed it was Derek. A six-year-old girl, who looked like Daphne, but had bespectacled olive-green eyes like Theo, was also at present. Hermione didn't know her name.

"Derek, Terra, go say 'hello' to your godmother," said Blaise and the guests noticed her presence. The two kids quickly ran up with smiles and gave her hugs after she greeted their parents.

"Hey, you two, do you guys want to go play with twins?" they nodded and ran upstairs. "Blaise, where's Mia's sleeping?"

"In the upstairs playroom where the kids are…and someone better move her before they wake her up," he said.

"C'mon , Hermione," Daphne said with a smile. "I'll go with you. Have you read _The Black Circle _by Morgan Perrywinkle, yet?" she asked.

"No," Hermione said. Blaise had informed her that Daphne was as much of a bookworm as she was, and Ginny told her that they became good friends. She actually saw the book when she went out yesterday, but didn't buy it. "I haven't got a chance."

"Well, it's good thing that I bought it for you," Daphne exclaimed excitedly.

"So, Theo, how's life been?" Blaise asked turning to his friend. He and Theodore were never that close. Blaise was actually friends with Daphne in school.

"Dark and dreary like always," Theo replied in a dull tone. "Do you have a dark, quiet room where I can read?

"Right…" now he remembered why they weren't so close. "In the basement," Blaise replied, answering his question and Theo left.

A few minutes later, when Hermione and Daphne came down after moving Mia to a different room, the phone rang. Blaise picked up.

"Hello?" he said answering the phone.

"Who is it?" Hermione asked as Daphne watched.

"It's Draco," Blaise told her.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"He's in Muggle jail," he told her.

"He's in Muggle jail?" Hermione repeated in disbelief.

Blaise copied her thought, _"You're in Muggle jail?" _

"Why?" Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" Blaise asked Draco, then turn to Hermione. "He stole a car."

_"He stole a car?"_ she gasped.

Blaise realized what he heard. "YOU STOLE A CAR?" he yelled in the phone. "I didn't think you even knew what a car was!"

Daphne was laughing as Hermione shook her head in disbelief.

"Okay, what police station are you exactly in?" Blaise asked him. "Okay, I'm coming to bail you out," he hung up. "Stupid, moron! Things he gets himself into…" he muttered heading out the door.

"Have fun, honey," Hermione called after as the door slammed shut. Daphne continued to laugh. Typical Draco, Blaise always had to get him out of these sticky situations.


	9. Chapter 9

**Surprise, Surprise**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of J. K. Rowling's creations.**

**Chapter 9: Awesomely Awesome Draco Malfoy **

"Are you sure you don't mind watching them for the day?" Daphne asked Hermione for the hundredth time.

And as before, she replied, "No, don't worry, it'll be fine." It's been two hours since Daphne and Theo had arrived and Blaise had still not returned with Draco. Daphne and Theo have an appointment they needed to go to and won't be back until around dinner to pick up their kids.

"Theo, there you are!" Daphne exclaimed seeing her husband.

"Theo… what have you been up to?" Hermione asked in a half-monotone, half-sarcastic manner. "I thought you probably died of boredom and engulfed by darkness." To her surprise, Daphne wasn't offended, but amused by her statement.

"Hn," Theo said in dull, boring voice, "boredom, as you call it, is not a crime, but a way of life."

"Oh…kay…" _Did that even make sense?_ Hermione turned to his wife. "Is he always such a drag?"

"Oh, yeah," she confirmed.

At that moment, the front door opened and an infuriated Blaise entered with a grinning Draco.

"If you _ever_ try to break into a Muggle vehicle out of the curiosity of what it does, let it be made clear that I will _not_ bail you out… _again_," Blaise declared.

"Calm down," Draco laughed. "I swear, marriage has made you all uptight. Daphne, how are _you _doing?" he greeted. "Theo?" he added.

"Hn," the boring ex-Slytherin said.

"Draco, we just saw you two hours ago," Daphne rolled her eyes. "Honestly, it's impossible to leave you alone for a minute."

Blaise sighed in frustration at Draco. "Where are you two heading?" he asked, seeing the Notts prepared to leave.

"Marriage councilor," Daphne stated simply.

_"Marriage councilor?"_ Blaise and Draco asked simultaneously.

"Hey, you try being married to Theo," she challenged. Theo had already left for the Apparating point. "Bye, Hermione," she waved them all good-bye and left.

"_Granger_!" Draco greeted overdramatically like they were friends who hadn't seen each other forever.

"Malfoy…" she replied with fake enthusiasm. "How _have _you been?"

"Great," he said looking around. "Now if you don't mind, I have to use the toilet," with that he dashed off upstairs.

Hermione gave Blaise a look and he just shrugged in response.

* * *

When Draco returned downstairs, Hermione was preparing lunch in the kitchen with Blaise's help. He appeared to be more relaxed and made himself feel right at home. Hermione found that a bit strange, even though the house was a quite large, comfortable, family home, it was nothing compared to what Draco was accustomed to.

Hermione looked him over. "Wow, _Draco_, you've learned how to dress like a Muggle, congrats,' she commented sarcastically. He was wearing a pair of faded, black jeans, and a button-down, green shirt over a gray t-shirt.

"I happen to know everything, you should know by now, Granger," he replied haughtily.

"Yes, well," she raised an eyebrow, "I don't recall Muggles making a fashion statement by having their shirt sticking out of their fly."

Draco blushed, looking down to see his shirt caught in the zipper of his jeans. He tried to get it unstuck and ended up pulling his shirt out through his fly. "I was in a hurry, okay? The kids were really excited to see their Uncle Draco," he said recovering, "I suppose now I know why they were laughing."

"Well, lunch is ready," announced Hermione. "I'm sure the kids' favourite "Uncle" would love to go get them."

Draco just gave her a sarcastic grin and obeyed. He was too embarrassed argue.

"You got to admit, the boy's got talent," Blaise said and Hermione turned to him. "Not many people can pull out their shirt through their fly."

* * *

**After lunch… **

Hermione realized that Blaise was right: the kids really did like Draco. After they were done eating, she decided they needed some fresh air and let them out in the backyard to play.

"Don't you want to join your brother and friends?" she asked Terra.

The young redhead turned to face her. "Running around and playing is such a waste of time and energy. I rather spend my time doing something productive and achieve something fulfilling. I will spend my time reading until my parents return," she said a in a tone matching her father, Theodore.

Hermione's mouth was in the shape of a perfect 'o.' "How old are you again?" she asked. The girl was already busy reading and didn't hear.

"She's just like you," Blaise said coming up to her. "All work and no play: a complete bookworm."

"_Excuse me_," she scoffed. "I was not like that at the age of _six. _Get Theo and Daphne to tell her to relax a little."

"Sure," he shrugged. At that moment, Derek entered.

"C'mon, sis," he called. "Why do always read? There are other things to do!"

"I rather not turn my brain into a pile of icky gush like yours," she said dully.

_Icky? _Hermione thought. _So maybe there's a six-year-old side to her, after all. _

"Oh, you're a pain in my bu-"

"Derek!" his godmother scolded.

"Behind," he dashed off outside as his sister left to find a quiet place to read.

Hermione was glaring at Blaise who was laughing when Draco approached. "Hey," he called, "Marcello told me that your crazy aunt and cousin visited a while back –by the way, Granger, your cooking's not half bad."

"Oh, Merlin," she mocked-disbelief. "_Draco Malfoy_, giving _me_, a mere Muggle-born, somewhat of a compliment? I think I might faint!" she dramatized sarcastically.

The blond wizard just rolled his eyes.

Blaise cut in. "Yeah, you're lucky you didn't come then. The last time they saw you, Lauren literally jumped you!"

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "I suppose two out of three isn't bad," she muttered.

_"Excuse me?" _

"You're rich and a Pureblood," she expanded, "not so much on the looks."

Draco scoffed. "I'll have you know, the chicks dig me. I happen to be very handsome," he said. "Then again, Granger, your choices in guys aren't exactly high-classed. After all-"

"Ah-hem."

Draco turned around to face his best friend, who had his arms folded and looked slightly pissed. "Not exactly _high-classed_, Draco?" he cocked an eyebrow.

"I meant before you, of course," he added sheepishly.

"Oh, go join the kids in the backyard!" Blaise shoved him out the door as Hermione giggled.

"I'm going to call Ginny and see how she's doing," she informed him.

Blaise nodded and decided to go join Draco. He didn't want his friend to teach the kids anything illegal.

* * *

**Late that evening… **

After dinner when Theo and Daphne picked up their kids, the Zabini kids were preparing for bed.

"Draco," Blaise said to his best friend. "Why don't you read the kids their bedtime story?"

Hermione had already put Mia in bed, and after their story, Marcello and Maria would be tucked in as well.

"Sure," he shrugged.

He entered the twins' linked-bedroom. They were both in Maria's side that day. "What story do you guys want?"

Maria handed him a picture book with a big smile.

"_Little Red Riding Hood," _he muttered. "I read this to you last time. Marcello, don't you have a choice?"

The little boy shook his head. "I chose yesterday," he informed.

"How about I make up a story?" Draco suggested. "One where Harry Potter gets teleported into a deserted island and gets beaten up by killer chimpanzees."

"NO!" Marcello gasped. He was all for the killer chimpanzee, but he liked his Uncle Harry.

"_Mummy_!" Maria called with a whimper. She didn't want something bad to happen to her Uncle Harry.

"No, no, don't call your mum, I'll just read this," he shushed them and pointed to the given book. "How about I make the wolf eat them all this time –including the woodcutter, and let the wolf will live happily ever after?"

_"Daddy!" _

"Or not," he sighed and started reading. _"Once upon a time…"_


	10. Chapter 10

**Surprise, Surprise**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of J. K. Rowling's creations.**

**Chapter 10: Ginny the Fox **

The following evening, when Hermione returned from the Potters', Blaise was on the phone.

"Well… Hermione doesn't exactly match up to Pansy," he was saying. "I don't think she would last in something like that…"

Hermione's jaw dropped and she was looking at the back of Blaise's head in disbelief. She stalked over. "Are you calling me ugly?" she demanded. "I know I'm not the prettiest witch around but compared to Parkinson-"

Blaise turned around and gulped. "I'm not calling you ugly!" he said hurriedly. He then spoke in the phone, "I'll call you back," and hung up.

"Then what does 'not matching up to Parkinson' mean?" she placed her hands on her hips.

"Draco was just telling me that Pansy is the Head of the _Wicked Fashion _magazine and she's the one who chooses the new models and stuff," he explained. Hermione raised an eyebrow at the thought of Draco using a telephone. "He was bugging me get you to audition for the magazine's new fashion line and I said it wasn't your thing."

"What?" she asked. "You don't think I can be a model?"

"No…yes, I mean, yeah you can be, but Pansy can be very cruel," Blaise stated, "and I don't think you have the figure she's looking for."

"So you're calling me fat?" she exclaimed.

"NO! You have a great figure," he said desperately, "but Pansy on the other hand is skinny as a stick and frankly, the girls in that magazine look like they're suffering some sort of disease."

Hermione folded her arms.

"Do you _want_ to audition?" he asked.

"NO! Have you no shame?" she gasped. "Have you seen what they wear in that magazine? The girls are all sluts!" with that she stalked off upstairs.

"Hermione, wait!" Blaise called desperately, following her.

Marcello and Maria looked up from their colouring at the direction their parents headed. They both weren't sure about the subject of their parents argument, but then again, they were only five.

"Grownups are weird," Maria said.

"They argue about the silliest things," Marcello agreed.

* * *

**That night at the Potters'… **

Ginny crawled into bed next to Harry after tucking Sirius in. She cuddled up next to him trying to make up her mind about something.

"How's the baby doing?" he asked rubbing her stomach.

"Just fine," she replied with a smile.

"The next time you go for a checkup, ask them to use that charm to see if Sirius is getting a sister or a brother, if we're getting a daughter or another son," he said.

"I promise," she said giving him kiss. She then turned serious. "Harry, have you noticed anything strange going on with Hermione and Blaise?" she asked cautiously.

"How so?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Well…um, I promised I wouldn't tell…" she muttered, "but I can't hold it in any longer. The Blaise and Hermione that we've been hanging with for the last few weeks aren't our Blaise and Hermione," she said quickly.

Harry didn't interrupt and gave her his full attention. Instead of saying anything, he encouraged her to continue.

"I noticed that something was strange that day when Blaise ending up spitting coffee all over you." Harry chuckled lightly. "I confronted Hermione and she claimed that some sort of time-warp thing happened. Apparently hers and Blaise's twenty-one-year-old minds are in their older bodies. They don't remember dating, getting married, or anything, and well, I know it sounds crazy, but I believe them," she explained hesitantly.

Harry didn't look all that shocked. "Well, that _would _explain their strange behaviours," he said after a while.

"You mean you aren't surprise?" Ginny asked shocked. "Don't you find it farfetched?"

"I've seen a lot of crazy thing, Gin," he said sitting up. "The entire magical world sometimes seems farfetched."

"So you knew?" she asked.

"No…I knew something was up, but not what," he elaborated. "I am slightly paranoid at times so I didn't say anything since you seemed to not notice a thing… but I guess they promised you to keep it quiet."

She nodded. 'And I just broke that promise," she told him. "I still can't believe you knew. No offence, honey, but you tend to be oblivious to your surroundings when it comes to things like this."

"Aw, give me some credit," he pulled her into his arms. "I didn't defeat Voldemort or become an Auror by being completely clueless."

She pouted. "Aren't you at the least bit curious as to how it happened?" she asked.

"Not really," replied Harry. "I learned that magic works in a strange way and it'll always remain an enigma, and when it's involved with time, well things just get stranger. I rather just accept what happened than getting myself confused and ending up with a big headache from trying to figure things out."

"Now what?" Ginny asked after a moment of silence.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, either we get them together," she explained, "or get them back in their proper self. If the second is meant to happen, it'll happen naturally, so I'm going with the first. We can't just leave them all confused like this!"

"Well, name a reason they're still together," Harry thought aloud. "I mean if what they say is true, they would've left each other right away."

"The kids," she grinned, "they both grew accustomed to their kids."

Harry shared her grin. "You're plotting something," he said simply.

"Yes, I am," she smirked. "You're going to get Malfoy to help us." Harry scrunched his nose. "The plan's very simple, really, and don't worry, we won't reveal their secret to Malfoy."

"You know, I'd rather not do this," he spoke, "but you would find a way to get me involved, so I will save us both the trouble and just agree."

"That's a good husband," she grinned messing up his already uncontrollable hair.

"Oh, shut up," Harry pulled her into a kiss.

* * *

**That night at the Zabinis' … **

"Hermione, open the bloody door and let me in!" Blaise banged his fist against their bedroom door. He could've just magicked it open, but he didn't exactly carry his wand around the house.

"No, go away," her muffled voice, said from the other side.

"Oh, come on, now you're just acting like a stubborn teenager."

"Well, if you recall, we are only a few years out of teen hood back in our time!"

"I'm sorry, okay," he tried again. "Draco had me on speaker and Pansy was there, I couldn't exactly insult her!"

"_Malfoy_, using a _Muggle _appliance, puh-lease," Hermione scoffed.

"C'mon, he's changed –for the most part," said Blaise, exasperated. "He's also my best friend, believe me when I say he's always been intrigued by Muggle items, but dared not to say anything because of his father."

"Not the point, Blaise," she called out from the other. "You're sleeping on the couch tonight."

"You can't do that! We're not even married! Not to mention this is my house!"

"Well, in this universe, we are married, so get used to it!" she retaliated.

Blaise sighed in defeat and turned to walk away, he stopped and called out, "Can I at least get a pillow?"

The door opened for a second and a pillow was thrown at him. He caught it and walked into Mia's room. She usually woke up in the middle of the night anyway and the room had a couch.

**Middle of the night… **

Hermione had woken up to check on Mia to find the toddler fast asleep. She also ended up finding Blaise sleeping on the couch of her room.

Smiling, she crouched down to level with him. "You asleep?" she nudged him.

He opened his eyes slowly. "You try sleeping on this couch and tell me," he yawned.

She laughed lightly. "Want to come back into the bedroom?"

"I'm forgiven?"

"I was never angry with you to begin with," she grinned mischievously. "I just always wanted to do that."

"Okay, that's it," he growled. "I'm staying here!"

"Suit yourself," she shrugged standing up and started to head out.

Blaise quickly got up. "Wait," he went after her.

When he was beside her, she said nudging him, "Got used to my company?"

He thought for a moment. "Yes," he replied, "yes, I have."

To Blaise's surprise, Hermione didn't jerk away when he put his arm around her shoulders as they returned to their bedroom.

* * *

**Sometimes the following day…**

"So, will you do it?" Ginny asked.

"Why?" he asked.

"Aw, come on," she pleaded. "Blaise is your best friend and you like his kids…it's part of a… prank, you can say, that we are going to pull."

"Let me think…no."

"Malfoy…" she narrowed her eyes.

"Fine, but you two owe me big time," Draco stated. "Let's see… Potter… why don't you do an interview and tell the world what a great guy I am, and how you've always been jealous of … well, everything about me."

"You're an idiot," Harry simply replied.

"Fine, I won't do it then," he turned to walk away.

"Malfoy, come on, I'm not going to beg if that's what you're thinking," Ginny told him. "I suppose I'll just ask Ron, of course, he doesn't have your amazing acting skills..."

Draco stopped. _Flattery will get you everywhere._

"And I really hate to do this, Draco…well actually, I don't," Harry swung his arm around his rival's shoulder, "but remember who got you out of Azkaban. If it weren't for me, you'd still be rotting in that tiny cell…by pulling a few Boy-Who-Lived-to-Become-a-Man-To-Conquer-the-Dark-And-is-Now-a-Top-Auror strings, I can send you right back," he grinned.

Draco looked shocked. "Potter, I never knew you had it in you," he gasped.

"Well," Harry shrugged non-chantingly with grin, "the Hat did want to put me in Slytherin."

Draco's jaw dropped.

"Me too, and I didn't even open the diary until after the sorting," Ginny admitted. Harry raised an eyebrow. "Hey, I wasn't going to admit it, coming from a family of Gryffindor. I thought it was the end of world then, but now it's safe, I suppose…so you're going to do it, Malfoy?"

His mouth was still open at the new discoveries. _Imagine, Gryffindor's Golden Boy and his Gryffindor wife…candidates for Slytherin. _Fixing his composure, he replied coolly, "yes, of course."

"Glad you see it our way," Ginny said in a business-like fashion.

* * *

**Later on… **

Ginny and Harry were plotting out their plan to the last detail with Draco. Actually, Ginny was doing the plotting; the other two were just reluctant participants.

Now imagine this, Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, enemies since day one –well, day two, they weren't actually rivals that day in Diagon Alley…anyway…let's try that again.

Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, _working together_, without bloodshed! In some faraway galaxy, some world has met its end.


	11. Chapter 11

**Surprise, Surprise **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of J.K. Rowling's creations.  
****  
Chapter 11: Strange Things All Around **

"You've been staring at that thing for hours," Hermione placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Open the damn thing already!"

Blaise paid no attention. He continued to sit on the sofa staring at a letter sealed with the Department of Mystery crest on the center table.

Hermione sighed in frustration and reached out to get the letter herself, but as soon as she got near it, Blaise grabbed it away.

"Don't you get it?" he exclaimed. "This is my performance review!"

"So?" she rolled her eyes. "All I've been hearing is how great of an Unspeakable you are. Why are afraid of opening one measly performance review? I'm sure you got some before."

"Yeah, back in _our_ time," Blaise said matter-of-factly. "Over there I was new, I was aware of my expectations, here I'm supposed to be this well-know, experienced Unspeakable," he exasperated. "How do I know I haven't ruined things for myself?"

Hermione's expression softened at his insecurity, but nonetheless, his behaviour was getting highly irritating. "Just open the damn envelope!" she tackled him to reach the letter in his hand, pushing him back into the couch. "I can't review any of _my_ papers because of you. I'm supposed to _teach_ in less than a month!"

Blaise tried to shift away from under weight but Hermione wasn't about to give up. She was determined to see his results, even if he was too afraid of them. Finally, after she got it, she made herself comfortable, oblivious to the fact that she was now sitting on Blaise's lap. In the fear of his results, he also didn't take notice.

Opening the envelope, she took out the results. "Are you sure you don't want to look at it?" she asked turning to face Blaise.

"No," he half-squeaked. "How do you think I did?"

Hermione was going to make a witty remark but decided against it seeing the worry in his face. This was something important to him. Instead she said: "I think you did great."

He gave her a smile –a genuine one- like none of the previous in gratitude. She found herself blushing. Unfolding the letter, she scanned over his performance review.

"Blaise…" she said slowly, gulping with nervousness, "you did… awesome!" She showed him the review.

He took it from her, staring at in awe. He couldn't believe it. He turned to face Hermione who had her arms around his neck. Finally noticing the position they were in, he grinned.

"You still think I'm completely incapable of surviving without a nanny?" he asked in a teasing tone.

Hermione laughed. "No, I think you'll do just fine."

Suddenly, he turned a bit more serious. "Kiss me," he said simply.

Her eyes were wide open. "Now, why would I do that?"

"You can't hate me that much if you're this excited for me. After all, look at your position…Mrs. Zabini."

Despite his comment, and the fact of her embarrassment, Hermione found herself smiling and obeying his request. Their lips almost touched when…

"Mum, Dad!" Marcello entered interrupting. When he saw them: "EW!" he scurried off.

The two jumped apart, both blushing. Hermione called out, "Marcello, what do you need? Is everything okay?"

"Fine!" he called back.

"We're going to play upstairs!" Maria added.

* * *

**With Maria and Marcello… **

"Uncle Draco, why don't you want us to tell Mum and Dad you're here?" asked Maria, confused as to why he called her brother back.

"That is if you really are Uncle Draco," Marcello accused. "How do we know that you're not some mean, nasty man in disguise?"

Draco sighed, rocking the little, sleeping Mia in his arms before putting her in her stroller. "Don't you remember? Your parents placed a barrier around this house so only a few select people can come and go?"

"Oh, yeah," Maria said. "I remember them telling us that."

"And don't worry, your parents know I'm taking you three out for the day," he reassured them. "They just looked busy so I didn't want to interrupt them."

"Oh yeah, real busy," Marcello pretended to gag.

Draco just raised an eyebrow. "So you two ready for a day filled with fun?" he asked.

"Yeah!" they chorused and ran outside through the back doors. He was glad that he had cast a silencing charm on the room because of the amount of noise the kids were making.

"Bloody Potter, and his scheming wife, and their stupid ideas…" Draco muttered under his breath. "Come on, killer chimps... go and get Harry bloody Potter…" Boy, was he currently glad for his Slytherin sneaking skills.

"What about Uncle Harry?" Maria asked curiously at Draco's muttering.

"Nothing," he said mussing up her hair and pushing Mia's stroller. "I _love_ your Uncle Harry," he said through gritted teeth with fake enthusiasm, his eyes twitching violently. "He's a _great_ guy… _absolutely_ amazing…"

Maria just gave him a strange look before jogging ahead to catch up with her brother.

* * *

**Back With Hermione and Blaise… **

Half-an-hour later, Hermione went upstairs to check on the twins, and Mia who should have been awake by now. A few minutes later she ran downstairs completely frantic and red-faced.

"What's wrong?" Blaise stood up, immediately feeling that something was wrong.

"The kids are missing!" she breathed out.

"What do you mean they're missing? Are you sure?" Blaise demanded in shock.

"Yes, I'm sure. Even Mia's gone from her crib. If they came downstairs we would've heard them," Hermione was frantic.

"I'm going to check outside," he told her. "How about you check the rest of the rooms?"

She nodded with a sniff as they both went their separate ways.

* * *

**Later on… **

"They're not in the front yard, backyard, or anywhere nearby," Blaise called to Hermione as soon as he reentered.

"Well, they're not anywhere in the house," she met up with him. "Oh, Merlin, Blaise, we're such bad parents!"

"Hermione, calm down," he said rubbing her arms. "Be reasonable, they couldn't have just disappeared. We have to be level-headed now and think clearly." He pulled her into an embrace.

"You're right," she muttered into his shirt. "This is unfair. We get thrown into this messed up future where we have _three_ kids. How are we supposed to be experienced? We're not even dating in our own time!"

He pulled apart. "I know, but… I think we could have a future..." Hermione blushed. "Anyway, you check with the Potters and maybe the Notts, the kids might've used the upstairs Floo –although I didn't know it was working... I'll check with the neighbours, if no one has seen them, I'm calling a search party. I swear, when we find those kids, we're putting locating/ tracking charms on them."

Hermione gave a small smile meeting his eyes as he squeezed her hand in reassurance. "We're wasting time," he said slowly, breaking eye contact.

She nodded with a slight blush and headed to the fireplace to Floo over to the Potters. "Wait!" she called. Blaise turned around. "Do you have your mobile?" she asked.

"You mean this?" he took a small silver phone. She nodded.

"You know how to work it, right? I might need to reach you," she told him.

"Don't worry, I do," he replied.

* * *

**At the Potters… **

"Ginny!" Hermione called out desperately as soon as she came out of the fireplace.

"Yes, what's wrong?" the redhead asked, rushing over. She was trying to hold back the small smile on her face.

"Have you seen the kids? They're missing," Hermione gasped out, half in tears.

_What? Stupid Malfoy, he was supposed to tell them that he was taking them out! _Ginny thought. "Oh, Hermione, are you sure?" she asked in mock-surprise and worry. "I'm afraid they're not here."

"Oh," the brunette groaned, falling into the Potters' couch. She had her face buried in her hands. "What am I going to do, Gin? Wait, the Notts! Can I use your phone?"

"Are you looking for the twins and Mia?" Sirius came in and asked Hermione.

"Yes, Siri," she told him with a smile. "Do you know where they are?"

"They-" he cut off when his mother gave him a glare from behind. He remembered the plan his father told him. "No, I don't. Sorry, Aunt Hermione."

"That's okay," she told him. "I'm so sorry to worry you like this, Gin, especially with your pregnancy."

"Oh, don't worry about it."

Just then the phone rang. Ginny answered.

_"Gin, there's been a change of plan," _it was Harry. _"Send Hermione and Blaise over to the Leaky Cauldron, right now!" _

"Why? What's going on?"

_"Don't worry, just send them over," _with that he hung up.

"That was Harry," Ginny said at Hermione's curious face. "He wants you and Blaise at the Leaky Cauldron."

"Maybe he found the kids," her eyes lit up. "I have to call Blaise."

She quickly told him to get to the Potters so they could Floo over together to the Cauldron.

* * *

**At the Leaky Cauldron… **

"Okay, how are they supposed to get here if the Floo and Apparition Points have been blocked?" Draco screamed at Harry.

"Shut up, Malfoy! I could use some help here," Harry growled. "Are you people nuts? Either help or try to get out!" he demanded, dodging another rogue Death-Eater spell.

Wasn't it just a lovely day to take the kids out and play matchmaker. Some revenge-wanting Death-Eaters just had to attack today! He was able to evacuate the place before they put up an Anti-Apparition jinx and blocked the Floo network. Therefore Harry's calls for reinforcement Aurors weren't much help. He still called Hermione and Blaise though. After all, he _was_ partially at fault that their kids were in this situation. The few people who didn't make it were hiding in safe spots. After all, the Death-Eaters' targets were Harry and Draco, and if they got Hermione and Blaise's kids, it just added to the fun.

"I would love to help, Potter, but I'm trying to keep the kids safe," he yelled back.

"Malfoy, look out!"

"Be gone, you scary, evil man –you are a man, right?" Marcello knocked out a Death-Eater sneaking behind Draco with a chair.

"Good job, kid," Draco phrased .

It still wasn't enough, since there were still four conscious Death-Eaters. Not to mention Draco wasn't much help, trying to protect the kids. He had hidden Mia in her stroller behind the counter and told the twins to watch her. It was still hard though, trying to duel two Death-Eaters at the same time while constantly checking to make sure the kids were safe.

"If they don't -- finish us off, Granger -- and Blaise -- will kill us," Draco called from between dodging and casting spells.

"For once we agree."


	12. Chapter 12

**Surprise, Surprise **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of J.K. Rowling's creations.**

**Chapter 12: Are You Out of Your Mind? **

Harry and Draco were back against a corner while the kids were still hiding. It was quite difficult to fight with your wand hand (Harry's) and left leg (Draco's) broken.

_"EXPELLIARUMUS!" _

_"Reducto! Stupefy!" _The first spells sent a desk hurling at a Death-Eater, while the second one knocked another Death-Eater out.

"_Impendimenta! Incaracerous!" _Another Death-Eater slowed down and was bind by a thick rope.

_"Oppugno!" _A bunch of unidentified creatures knocked out the last Death-Eater.

At the end of these spells was a fuming Hermione and very pissed-off Blaise. "Normally, I would feel bad attacking _anyone_ from the back, but this time was an exception."

"Well, that's just you, with enemies deserving the worst, I say take them down any way possible," Blaise told her.

"They let you become an Unspeakable with that attitude?"

Harry and Draco, thinking they were safe, tried to slip away (limping in Draco's case). They both did some temporary healing charms and binds to their injuries.

"_No, no, no,_ where do you think your going?" Blaise asked with an evil smirk. The two gulped.

"MAMA! PAPA!" the twins scurried over and clung on to their parents.

"Mummy, I was so scared!" Maria cried softly.

"Aw, sweetie, it's going to be okay."

"Daddy, that was wicked, can we do it again?" Marcello grinned from ear-to-ear.

"NO!"

"Mia," Hermione found the toddler in her hiding spot and took her out of her stroller, cuddling. "Poor baby, Mummy's here, everything's going to be okay."

"Mama, Dada, funny!" she giggled. "Do again!" Well, she was taking after her brother…

"Well, this is a nice little family reunion," Draco said with a clap of his hands. "We'll be just leaving now."

"Stay right there, Malfoy," Hermione said in a commanding tone. He came to a halt.

"I can't believe you two!" Blaise surprisingly started the lecturing rant. "This has got to be one of the most irresponsible things I've ever seen you do! And I've seen or heard plenty of irresponsible things about both of you!"

"Don't blame me! It was Potter's idea!" Draco pointed.

"Since when did _you_ listen to Harry, Drake?" his best friend snapped while Hermione glared at her best friend.

"It was Ginny's idea," he chuckled sheepishly.

While in a way that made more sense, Hermione was still ticked off. "Oh, stop blaming your wife. No one's responsible for your behaviour but you. The kids could've gotten seriously hurt-"

"What were you two thinking?" Blaise finished.

"Oh my, what happened here?" Ginny asked, Flooing over. Hermione and Blaise were able to lift the Anti-Floo and Anti-Apparition jinx before knocking out the Death-Eaters. In addition, because they were under the Zabinis' glares, Draco and Harry missed the Aurors arresting the Death-Eaters. "Why is this place in shambles?"

"I'll explain later," said Harry. "Let's just say that your plan backfired big time for now."

"Oh, Merlin! Hermione, Blaise, I am so sorry!" she apologised with great worry.

"Can you just explain what you were thinking?"

"Putting our kids in danger like that? Worrying us?"

"Draco was supposed to talk to you before taking the kids out!" Harry exclaimed.

The blond-in-question laughed sheepishly. "Well, they were getting really cozy and frankly I didn't want to interrupt!"

"What?" Harry and Ginny gasped. They could've achieved their proper goal if they hadn't interfered? The irony…

Hermione and Blaise blushed slightly at the memory of the almost-kiss. Then the brunette realized something… "You know!" she accused Harry. "You told him," she faced Ginny. Blaise also came to an understanding for he didn't look too pleased.

"He figured it by himself, I just hinted later on!" Ginny defended.

The "married" couple gave them matching disbelieving looks.

"C'mon, I'm not that oblivious!"

"What's going on here?" Draco was frustrated and lost.

"Leave!" the others said simultaneously.

"_Fine,_ I know when I'm not wanted," he said. "Besides, you people are getting weirder everyday!" he Apparated away with a limp.

"I can't believe this!" Blaise growled.

"We are so sorry," the Potters apologised.

"Not now, we have to get the kids home and explain some things to them," Hermione said. She looked at Harry's hand. "You better get that checked out."

"Don't think you're off the hook," Blaise added.

Ginny and Harry watched as the Zabinis Flooed home looking like a picture-perfect family. Of course, they were also worried as to what they would do for revenge.

* * *

After explaining to the kids they were never to leave the house without telling their parents and fussing over them, Hermione and Blaise had time for themselves after dinner when the kids were asleep.

"No matter how many books you read, parenthood is full of unexpected turns," Hermione said crawling into bed.

"You said it, absolutely no preparation," Blaise yawned, falling asleep.

* * *

The next morning, when Hermione woke up, something was wrong. Half-asleep on her bed, she realized that no one was beside her. "Blaise?" she yawned getting up. Opening her eyes fully, she gasped in shock. Rushing to the mirror, she let out an ear-piercing scream. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Surprise, Surprise**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of J. K. Rowling's creations.**

**Chapter 13: Back to the Beginning **

Hermione pinched herself to see if she was awake. She wasn't dreaming. Looking over herself in the mirror, she was going through many emotions. Finally, accepting what happened, she turned away from the mirror.

"I'm back," she said aloud.

While she washed up, got dressed, and ate breakfast, she was still half-expecting Blaise, or the kids to show up. Was it all just a dream?

Someone knocked on the door of her flat. "Hermione, you there? Open up," it was Ginny's voice.

She rushed over to open the door and saw the still newlywed Potters and a very pregnant Ginny –with her firstborn, Sirius, that is. Squealing, she pulled them into a hug.

"Great to see you, too, 'Mione," laughed Harry. "How was your vacation?"

"Vacation?" her smiled dropped and she pulled apart from the hug with confusion.

"Yeah, your vacation," Ginny said. "You did go, right? You were gone for three weeks."

"My vacation, right…" the brunette played along. _I was really gone then… _

"I hope you had a good time. You were really pissed-off, something about Zabini…" Harry said.

"Did you go to the Bahamas like you said?" the redhead asked. "I found your choice a bit strange, but nonetheless fun…"

"Yeah…it was great…"

"The Bahamas, really?" Harry was unaware of where she was vacationing. "I heard that Zabini took three weeks off to go there as well. Did you end up running into him? It'd be kind of sad since you took a break because of him," he chuckled lightly.

"Ooh, pictures!" Ginny squealed.

"Huh?" Hermione turned around to see Ginny looking at some pictures on the kitchen counter.

"Oh, Merlin," the redhead gasped. "You ended up vacationing _with_ Zabini?"

_"What?" _Harry and Hermione both said. He looked over Ginny's shoulder at the pictures.

"Say, you guys look older –ouch!" Ginny slapped him for the comment.

Coming to realization, Hermione ran out the door to find a certain Italian wizard. No surprise that she ended up at the bookstore: the place where it all began.

* * *

"Hermione!" breathed an all-too-familiar voice.

"Blaise!" Hermione found herself tackling the dark-haired wizard into a hug. Blushing, she quickly let go. She realized he was slightly out-of-breath like herself.

"It really happened, didn't it?" he asked. She nodded. "Did you find the pictures, too?"

"Of our older _married_ selves vacationing in the Bahamas? Oh yeah," she let out a dry laugh. "This is unbelievable – a time-switch! If we tell anyone, they'll think we're crazy!"

"I know," he agreed. "The future selves believed it because we were way out of character."

"What do you think happened?" she asked him as they started walking to who-knew-where.

"Magic, time-travel, parallel universe," he listed. "I rather not think about it. Some things are better left unsolved. Who knows how the course of those three elements work?"

"You're right," she sighed, stretching her arms. "As strange as this is coming from me, but this is one mystery I'm actually going to avoid tackling."

"No way," he came to a halt raising an eyebrow. "You serious?"

"No…" she broke into a grin, "that's Harry's son."

Blaise couldn't help but laugh. "Hey, I'm sorry about getting on your nerve that day…"

"No, I'm sorry, too," she told him. "You deserved an apology. I _did_ nearly break your nose."

"How about we start over?" he suggested. "Want to grab a coffee or something?"

"You really should get over your addiction! It's not healthy!" Hermione lectured with her hands on her hips.

"Yes, dear," Blaise gulped seeing the fire in her eyes, but nonetheless, he was grinning.

Hermione blushed at the reference. "Sure though, why not?" she agreed.

The two then walked to the nearest coffee place, unnoticed by both that they ended up holding hands. Not realizing that they both got used to each other's company, and unaware of how natural and comfortable it felt to be together.

* * *

**Back at Hermione's flat… **

"You don't think they're dating, do you?" asked Ginny looking back between the pictures and the direction Hermione ran off.

"I don't know, but I'm calling Ron," he told her, looking for Hermione's phone.

"Why?" Ginny asked.

"Well, if they _are_ dating, Zabini's not getting off without an interrogation," he smirked evilly.

Ginny just rolled her eyes, then smiled thinking how cute Hermione and Blaise looked together.

* * *

**Seven Years Later… **

"Damn it!" Blaise growled, tripping over one of Mia's toys.

Hermione rushed over to see her fallen husband lying flat on his back. _Déjà vu, _she grinned. "Finally got the kids to bed," she laughed at the memory.

Blaise grinned. "Yeah, now I'd like to get you to bed," he said getting up and pulling her into his arms.

"Life is strange, don't you think?" she said placing her arms around his neck.

"It sure is," he agreed leaning in for a kiss.

Once they broke apart, Hermione said with a smirk, "by the way, your Aunt Clare, cousin Lauren, _and_ Draco are coming over tomorrow."

"Aw, NO!" Blaise groaned. The torture…

**FIN **

* * *

**Timeline  **

**Beginning – Day 1/ Own Time/ Chapter 1 **

**Week 1- New Time **

**Day 1** – Arriving at a new time; meeting the future Potters/ Chapters 1-3

**Day 2** – Working things out; letter from Aunt Clare and Lauren/ Chapter 4

**Day 3-6** – Regular preparation days; no interruptions/ No chapters

**Day 7** – Quidditch fiasco (Blaise and Harry appointed coaches); Clare's and Lauren's visit/ Chapter 5

**Weeks 2 and 3 **

**Day 8** – Visits from the Potters and Weasleys (Ron); Blaise leaves for work/ Chapters 6

**Day 11-15** – Hermione taking care of the kids, Ginny's pregnancy announced at some point/ No chapters

**Day 16** – Blaise is back; reveals a little of his past; a bit of show of affection between the two/ Chapter 7

**Day 17** – Letter from the Notts and Draco; figuring out who's whose godparents/ Chapter 7

**Day 18** – Notts are over; Blaise bails Draco out of jail; meeting the new and improved Draco/ Chapters 8-9

**Day 19** – Hermione pretends to be pissed at Blaise (the two end up getting closer); Ginny's reveals their secret to Harry/ Chapter 10

**Day 20** – Ginny and Harry convinces Draco to go along with Ginny's "plan"/ Chapter 10

**Day 21** – The almost kiss; Draco "kidnaps" the Zabini kids; plan backfires (Death-Eater attack); finding the kids/ Chapters 11-12

**Ending – Day 1/ Return to own time/ Chapter 13 – Extra/ Seven Years Later…**


End file.
